WA hospitals prove costly
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital spent almost twice as much as some major Australian hospitals to treat patients with the same medical condition, a report shows.
National Health Performance Authority figures reveal that SCGH spent an average $5500 for acute patients admitted for a range of reasons in 2011-12. It ranked the second highest in cost compared with other major metropolitan hospitals in Australia.
Among big suburban hospitals, Rockingham Hospital was the most expensive, spending an average $6400 for each admission compared with the average $4300 for similar hospitals.
The report – the first to compare hospitals according to their size -- looked at the costs of treating patients for 16 common conditions and procedures, including heart failure, gall stones, hip replacements and kidney infections.
The authority said it was important to look at the costs of treating patients across more than 80 hospitals, given one-third of the estimated $140 billion that Australia spent on health in 2011-12 was on running costs for public hospitals.
The report found the cost of some conditions and procedures was nearly four times higher when comparing hospitals against their peers.
